Sophia Esposito and Ellie Weaver debuted in their first home gymnastics meet with a 9.900 and 9.975 on beam.
Weaver competed her first time on beam for OSU, earning her some of the loudest cheers of the day.
“I didn’t realize how overwhelming it would feel and how exciting it would be,” Weaver said. “It was a really special moment.”
Oregon State University Gymnastics won 197.575 to 192.950 against Brown University in their dual meet in Gill Coliseum, on Sunday.
This was the second meeting between OSU and Brown. The first was last season in a quad meet in Corvallis.
Weaver won the first-place title for beam through both teams at the post-meet awards ceremony.
OSU began the first rotation on vault where Esposito earned her 9.900 and most of the team made the 9.800s. Olivia Buckner, also debuting in her first meet at home missed her landing but came away with a 9.225 on vault.
OSU earned spots 1-5 for vault scores with Julia Bedell of Brown tying for fourth with a score of 9.850.
OSU drew ahead with a score of 49.350 to Brown’s 46.975 at the close of the first rotation.
In their second rotation, OSU went to bars. Jade Carey’s bar routine drew chants of “10.00” from the crowd, but she ended with a score of 9.875. Taylor DeVries scored the same and stuck her landing from a double layout dismount.
Weaver fell mid-routine but picked it back up and earned a 9.225.
Brown saw a high score from Asta-Sollilja Farell, 9.275, on bars. There were a few bobbles on landings and one fall that lowered their overall score.
OSU claimed the second rotation with a score of 49.300 to 48.625. The Beavers then moved to the beam.
Carey earned the overall second spot on the beam with a score of 9.950, behind Weaver. OSU kept the momentum of the evening going with the rest earning scores of 9.700 or above.
Brown saw some low scores on beam that lowered their team’s overall score significantly due to some falls.
OSU also took the third rotation with a score of 49.500 to 49.125.
The Beavers closed out the meet on the floor.
Natalie Briones scored a 9.850 to start the Beavers off. Kaitlin Garcia completed a high-energy routine, stuck her landings and got a 9.875.
Ariana Young followed that with the fans cheering for a 10.000. She scored a 9.925 matching her highest collegiate score and securing her first place in floor for the meet.
OSU finished the last rotation with a score of 49.425 to Brown’s 49.425 and secured the win for the afternoon.
“Our goal was to just kind of look at where we could find those extra one-tenths on every routine. And I think they did a good job of that,” head coach Tanya Chaplin said.
Chaplin was happy with those results post-meet, as were Weaver and Esposito.
“When you focus in on that one thing that you need to fix, it becomes more natural, the more you do it,” said Esposito.
The crowd in Gill Coliseum was large for the first home meet of the season, but the OSU team does their best not to let it get to their heads.
“We stay focused on what we’re supposed to do. And that helps us so that no matter where we go, we have the same routine and we don’t focus too much on what the crowd does,” Weaver said.
OSU gymnastics competes at the University of California Berkeley on Jan 27., and Brown is set to take on the University of Alaska Anchorage in Rhode Island on Jan 28.
